Missing a Jag ...

Today is my lucky today! I spent 6 hours driving to the airport and back. I was in a jam for the most part. It was super-cold (-4 C) and I didn't wear any gloves. My feet were soaking wet and cold - thanks to my rebellious mind deciding to wear sandals at the very last minute, in the interest of time. OK, enough waiting - we'll get to the lucky part now ...

Somewhere on I-405 N, I decided to get past a few cars in the humungous traffic jam by taking the uncrowded outermost lane. Well I guess it was empty for a reason. As soon as I attempted to merge to the center lane, I could feel my car drifting uncontrollably perpendicular to the road. Braking didnt help - even though I kept pulsing it all the time. Somehow time seems to expand un-endingly in these moments and you literally see the whole world around you. You can imagine everything with so much clarity. In God's re-caliberated time base, I was drifting on a sheet of ice towards a pack of cars behind and to the left of me. There was a spanking new Jaguar on my trajectory. In those instants, I had enough time to worry about the impact, insurance, police and fiery tempers that were to follow.

I have no idea what caused this: the car unexpectedly responded and I was able to quickly swerve it back onto the lane just in time. Call it pulsing the brakes trick ... or sheer luck.

However, what stood out is how much your brain tends to work during times of crisis. How the expanse of time expands. How the sense of space of emphasised. How you are blessed with more resources to deal with distress. If only we had a frame of mind like this even in the absence of crisis, we could have more than the stipulated 24 hours in the day. Something to ponder over ... what is time and how does everyone realize time? Is this realization the same everytime?

So many lessons learnt. Indeed a lucky day!

Our marathon efforts and snowfall in Seattle!

It doesnt snow often in Seattle. In fact only once a year. The last time it happened, we took time off work and arranged for a snowball fight outside the office.

This year, it was even more fun! There was snow on the day of the Seattle marathon ... in fact it snowed pretty heavily. But this didnt deter our brave runners from Asha who rocked as usual! All the runners finished well and this was a fantastic effort from them in spite of the crabby weather!

Long day so far ... I really need to crash now. I've been out in the cold for a long time today. You can check out all the snaps here.

Bad days ....

How bad can your day get .... I lost every game I played today. Clinching defeat from the jaws of victory on most games. Quite crabby right now ....

New "Rumi"-nations

It's been a while since I blogged ... a very long while actually. I can't believe how much things have changed since the last post. I've completed a year at work, bought a new car, tried to run, been more involved with volunteering, dabbled in yoga/meditation, done two road trips, met some really interesting people .... yada yada yada.

One of the best things that have done is read some good poetry. I've always been fascinated by Middle-eastern philosophy ... "The Prophet" from Kahlil Gibran ranks among my favorites. Of late, however, I've been reading some delightful pearls of wisdom from Sufi mystics like Rumi and Hafeez. They're such a treat to read ... and powerfuk enough change your perspective on so many things around you. It really makes me wonder ... if the translated version is so powerful, can you imagine what the original version would sound? It might well be worth the effort to learn Farsi!

Here's a sample of some of these gems:

You ask the embryo why he, or she, stays cooped up
in the dark with eyes closed.
Listen to the answer.
There is no "other world."
I only know what I've experienced.
You must be hallucinating.

You suppose you are the trouble
But you are the cure
You suppose that you are the lock on the door
But you are the key that opens it
It's too bad that you want to be someone else
You don't see your own face, your own beauty
Yet, no face is more beautiful than yours.

God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches you by means ofopposites, so that you will have two wings to fly - not one.

Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.

In the early morning hour, just before dawn, lover and beloved wake and take a drink of water.
She asks, “Do you love me or yourself more?
Really, tell the absolute truth.”
He says, “There's nothing left of me. I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
Is it still a stone, or a world made of redness?
It has no resistance to sunlight.”